Twister ring and traveler



April 30, 1935. A. D. GRANGER 1,999,901

TWiSTER RING AND TRAVELER I 'Filed Sept. 27, 19s:

14s fon Denna-Grang r. Invenfor'.

Alforneys Patented Apr. 30, 1935 1,999,901 TWISTER. mo AND TRAVELER Aston Dennis Granger, Long Eaton, England, as-

signor to A. D. Granger Limited, Long Eaton,

England Application September 27, 1933, Serial No. 691,233 In Great Britain September 28, 1932 2 Claims. (Cl. 11859) This invention is for improvements in yarn doubling machines and more particularly relates to the lubrication of the rings of yarn doubling and like machines of the kind in which the yarn,

5 in its passage to the bobbin, is controlled by a yarn guiding traveller which runs around a ring surrounding the bobbin and which ring receives rising and falling motion so as to lay the yarn evenly on the bobbin. It has for an object to provide lubricating means which can be applied to existing machines without necessitating alterations to the rail or plate in which the rings are located.

A further object of the invention is to provide lubricating means whereby an even and adequate supply of lubricant is supplied to the interior of the rings while they are running, which supply ceases automatically when the rings are not running, and restarts automatically when they are started.

As is well known, in yarn doubling machines of the kind referred to, the rings upon which the yarn guiding travellers run are disposed in openings provided for them in a longitudinal rail or in openings in plates secured to such a rail, and they project both above and below the rail or plate so that the travellers (which are made of wire) can be formed with parts to engage with the outer sides of both of the upper and lower edges of the rings'and be thus retained thereon. In the majority of existing machines, it is necessary for the operator at frequent intervals to apply a little lubricant to the traveller rings and, as this operation can only be effected when the ring to be lubricated is not working, the output of the machine is thereby materially reduced. In such spasmodic lubrication it frequently occurs, moreover, that an excess of lubricant is'applied which gets onto the yarn. These are disadvantages which are obviated by the present invention.

In order that the said invention may be better understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing which shows the relevant parts of a yarn doubling machine. In this draw- 111g,

Figure 1 is a vertical cross section through the ring and associated parts provided according to this invention, a

Figure 2 is a plan illustrating the invention as applied to a traveller ring mounted in a plate, while Figure 3 is a plan showing theinvention applied to traveller rings mounted in a rail,

Throughout this description like reference numerals indicate like parts.

In the construction shown in Figures 1 and 2, the traveller ring I0 is mounted upon a ringholding plate II, it being understood that a plu- 5 rality of such plates would be attached to a rail to which rising and falling motion is imparted. A wire traveller I 2, through which the yarn is threaded, revolves in a circle upon the ring and an object of the invention is to supply lubricant to this traveller in quantities which are adequate but are not sufliciently large to get on to the yarn. To this end, there is a small oil container or reservoir I3 secured to the ringholding plate H a short distance from the external periphery of the ring II). From this reservoir the lubricant is supplied by means of a short tube l4, just above the level of the plate II, which tube fits into the ring and terminates in a small duct l5 at the inner periphery of the ring. This duct is preferably of such a size (carefully chosen with regard to the viscosity of the oil employed, or vice versa) that the lubricant does not flow freely through it but merely protrudes from the end thereof in part-spherical or meniscus form and is wiped off by the traveller I2 at each passage of the latter. As the traveller wipes off the protruding globule of oil, the molecular adhesion of the oil and the slight suction action set up by the traveller ensures that the supply will be automatically maintained and that there will be no excess. Asa consequence of this arrangement, the supply of oil to the traveller l2 and to the ring Ill upon which it runs is not only regular' and well balanced but ceases as soon as the 35 machine stops so that there is no waste, whilst the supply is renewed when the machine is restarted.

The distribution of the oil removed from the end of the metering duct I5, and the automatic recommencement of lubrication after a stoppage, is materially facilitated by the provision of an annular groove IS in the interior periphery of the ring. It will be understood that this groove conducts the oil all round the inside of the ring, and when the machine is brought to a standstill a certain amount of oil remains in the said groove which residue, when the machine is restarted, enhances that suction or drag upon the lubricant in the tube l4 and in the reservoir which ensures what may be termed the self-priming actionin the lubricating system. Preferably the upper edge 5a of this groove is chamfered so as to lead the lubricant down into it, while the lower edge lfib is squared so as to retain the lubricant therein.

Doubling machines are required to deal with flufiy material such as cotton, but it will be appreciated that the presence of iiuflf in the lubricating system will rapidly lead to a break down thereof, for example by choking the tube I4. Therefore the container or reservoir I3 is preferably provided with a lid H, in which there is a filling aperture I8. This aperture is normally closed by means ofa displaceable cover I 9 in which, or in the lid l1, there may if necessary be a very small air inlet, such as is indicated at 20.

The filling aperture I8 is preferably arranged to permit of grease 'gun being applied thereto to fill the container with oil. Such a gun may be applied thereto at any time in order to force the oil up to the point of delivery in the interior of the ring, so that there is a small quantity of lubricant protruding from the duct, and to remove any obstructions in the restricted oil passage.

If so desired, the arrangement described hereinbefore with reference to Figures 1 and 2 may be duplicated and the oil fed to each ring at two opposite points from two independent oil containers, but in the majority of cases, it will be found that the supply of viscous oil at one point in the ring will be adequate to lubricate the ring and traveller. If it is desired to feed the oil to two points in each ring, then the oil may be so fed from a single container by forming the ring ID with two ducts l5 and connecting both to a single container such as is shown at l3.

When the traveller rings H) as hereinbefore described are each disposed in an independent plate II, it will readily be appreciated that a container I3 must be provided for each ring, but when the.

rings are disposed in openings in a rail, this is not necessary for one container may be employed to supply oil to a plurality of rings.

A convenient arrangement which may be adopted in such a construction is shown in Figure 3. In this figure there is a single container l3 in conjunction with each pair of rings l0, said container being mounted upon the rail 2|, in which the rings are disposed, in the space between the two rings which it is to supply wtih lubricant. The ducts I5 in the rings, details of which are as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2, are so disposed that they can both be connected to the common container l3 by short straight tubes 14', which as shown converge from the rings to the container. In such an arrangement, the number of oil containers required is reduced by one half and a further advantage is that the common container I3 is held in position by the two supply tubes ll.

By the means hereinbefore described, an adequate and constant supply of lubricant is supplied to the travellers, and it will readily'be appreciated that the lubrication system provided by this invention has this advantage over the hand lubrication hitherto commonly employed,. and over such lubrication systems as have been hitherto proposed, that at no time is an excess of lubricant, sufficient to foul the yarn, supplied and that the even supply terminates when the ring is brought to a standstill and recommences automatically when the ring is brought into operation. Moreover, as the system is totally enclosed, the trouble usually experienced owing to flufl from the yarn getting into the oil is entirely obviated and hence this system can be employed with perfect safety and reliability in machines for doubling cotton and other flufiy yarns.

I claim:

1. In a yarn doubling or like'machine, a ring for supporting and guiding a traveller, which ring has formed in its interior face an annular groove, a closed reservoir for a viscous lubricant, a gravity feed conduit extending from the reservoir and terminating in the said groove in the ring, and being at its end of a meniscus-forming size, and a traveller moving around the ring in close proximity to the said groove and arranged to wipe off the protruding lubricant as it passes the meniscus-forming orifice thereof.

2. In a yarn doubling or like machine, a ring rail, a ring supported therein for guiding a traveller, which ring is formed on its inner face with a shallow annular groove and is drilled in said groove with a metering orifice of meniscus-forming size, a closed reservoir for lubricants supported on the rail, a conduit tube extending about the rail from the reservoir to the metering orifice in the ring adapted to convey lubricant to such orifice and a traveller movable about the ring in close proximity to the groove and operating to wipe off the lubricant protruding from the metering orifice for lubricating purposes, allowing the immediate protrusion of another portion of lubricant, the metering orifice serving to prevent flow of lubricant when the machine is at rest and the traveller not operating.

ASTON DENNIS GRANGER. 

